Browne, Michael
Michael Browne (2007) Continuum
CONTINUUM
As the title of the show would suggest, Michael Browne continues to actively paint and exhibit his work. This exhibition is his second here at South Coast Gallery, the first being a very well received show that displayed Michael’s wide stylistic range over a 50 year period. This time around, although the chronological thread is still present, the focus is more on recently painted works of suggestive, non ‘site-specific’ and colourfully constructed landscapes.
In 1955, at the age of 25, Michael Browne not only completed his study at the University of Canterbury, School of Fine Art, but was also awarded a New Zealand National Art Gallery Travelling Scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art in London (1955-1958). He furthered his studies in Paris at the Friedlander (1958) and the S. W. Hayter (1958-1959) Etching Ateliers and in Amsterdam after receiving a Netherlands International Cultural Relations Fellowship (1959-1960).
Rather than returning to New Zealand as many of the other New Zealand artists of the time did, Michael stayed on to lecture in Art, at a number of English institutions until 1980.
Michael and his wife Jenny continue to divide there time between Wellington and London, eighteen months and 6 months in each place respectively. For very practical reasons the end to this regular toing and froing is near and as a result many of the paintings shown here have recently been repatriated from Michael’s English stock.
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